“The child who is starving has no human rights.”
These words of former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto really inspired me to pen down my feelings regarding the rights of women to get education and equality. I am a true feminist but that doesn’t mean the millions of other human beings in this world would support this ideology. Once Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, said that ‘feminism is something which should be treated as equal to equality’.
India Has Made Considerable Progress In Girls’ Education But We Have A Long Way To Go
How can we promote this? What can we do? These are the questions that prick me badly. According to my, determination, strength, conviction, and eagerness to do something different doesn’t have any gender. Strength can be equally manifested by men and women but the truth rests on how you showcase it in front of others. After holding up a lot of campaigns, meetings, protests, I think India has been able to achieve success when it comes to girl’s education.
There are a lot more obstacles that we need to overcome in the present stage especially the mentality of the people. From ancient times itself, either through ballads or fairy tales or folks, we have been able to see how men are portrayed as superior to women in all the aspects possible. This formed a patriarchal society where men are leaders and women are followers; where men are producers and women are consumers, and again it ended up as men being aggressive, and the whole of humanity becoming the victim.
This is what I would like to change. Why can’t women raise their voices loud as a strong response to the injustice and inequalities they face every day? Why can’t they come upfront to their father and husband and demand their rights to get an education and to seek job opportunities?
A Girl Who Cannot Plan Her Own Life Is Fundamentally Not Free
My point is this- the girl who can’t plan her life is fundamentally not free, and the girl who is illiterate has no future. The main reason for the increasing rate of poverty, injustice, and unemployment is that we are not able to provide quality education on an equal basis. Education is the only weapon to fight against poverty. There are girls around who are getting married off at a very early age and bearing children at an age which is again unacceptable.
Today, as a girl of 16, I am really overwhelmed and would like to acknowledge Almighty God who has granted me the right to get an education along with a loving family who supports it too. But I really feel sad listening to stories of girls from different communities and backgrounds facing a number of threats at this age either from their family or from society.
Well, my point is that all the slogans which we read aloud and write on big posters such as ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padao’ should not remain slogans because words without action are dead. We all need to understand the fact that ‘together we stand and divided we fall’. If we raise our voice for the promotion of girl’s education and security, I am sure wonders are going to happen in the future.
Don’t support conservative minds that treat women as slaves. Support reforms, and spread the colours of diversity. Support #Thestartisfromwithin and raise your voice for the change.